8 Dishes Famous Chefs Advise Against Ordering in Restaurants

When we go out to a restaurant or a cafe, eager to have a good time and treat ourselves to dishes prepared by professional chefs, we want to be sure that the food we order is of high quality and freshly made.

Today WeGoRo presents you with a collection of recommendations from world-famous chefs about which dishes you’d better avoid ordering in a restaurant so as not to turn your evening into a bitter disappointment!

Well-Done Steaks

Renowned American chef Anthony Bourdain reveals that, when restaurant workers come across a toughened piece of meat that looks past its serve-by date, they have two options: either throw it away, or...save it for well-done steaks!

Salmon Sushi

We’ve got some bad news for lovers of salmon sushi and rolls. Chef Hank Scrampton believes that you should avoid them if they’re made with freshwater species of salmon. The reason is that such dishes present a favorable breeding environment for parasites. But there is no need for excessive panic: the processes used for freezing fish effectively kill harmful microorganisms. "Almost all the fish for sushi and rolls is subjected to these processes, and that’s very good," says the chef.

Still, if you have any doubts, it’s best to ask the waiter what kind of salmon was used for preparing the dish: fresh or frozen?

Vegetarian Dishes

According to an anonymous survey of chefs in the United States, conducted by Food Network Magazine, 15% of respondents admitted that the actual contents of vegetarian dishes in restaurants may not fully coincide with those listed on the menu. If you’re an overly picky vegetarian and constantly remind the restaurant staff about your principles, you’d better be on your guard: as a way of revenge, some cooks may add a few pieces of tuna or bacon to your salad. In the words of culinary expert Anthony Bourdain, "Vegetarians and vegans are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn!"

Iceberg Salad

You never see people who work in restaurants order an Iceberg Salad on their evenings out. The main danger is that this dish becomes a breeding ground for bacteria who love to reside in the moist recesses of salad leaves. And it’s almost impossible to rinse the Iceberg’s ingredients thoroughly enough to get rid of those harmful "tenants."

Bread

Three well-known American chefs have admitted to Food Network Magazine that uneaten bread slices usually keep "roaming" from one restaurant table to another. Of course, they get warmed up each time before they’re served, but this does not guarantee freshness.

Fish on a Monday

According to Anthony Bourdain, the majority of restaurants buy their fish in the run-up to the weekend: Thursdays or Fridays. Fish markets usually remain closed over the weekend, and fish can only stay fresh for three days. Which means that, if you decide to treat yourself to a fish dish on Monday, you will either have to make do with something very stale or something out of the freezer.

Oysters

You shouldn’t order oysters in restaurants that do not specialize in seafood. Stale oysters can easily cause food poisoning. Therefore, you’d better be sure that the restaurant gets them from reliable suppliers in fresh condition.

Non-Core Dishes

New York chef Michael Armstrong advises you to only order dishes that are the restaurant’s specialty. "Don’t expect anything good when ordering pasta at a pizzeria or fish at a steakhouse." For one thing, the ingredients for dishes that are rarely ordered end up staying in the fridge for too long, increasing the risk of them going bad.